


Come Back...Be Here

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Series: Tumblr Prompts [70]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Blood, Gun Violence, Happy Ending, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Military, Mundane Magnus Bane/Mundane Alec Lightwood, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 07:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20811065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you’ll make it back. I just want to make it harder for you to run away with some handsome, rugged military man you meet overseas,” Magnus deflects.Alec smiles, shaking his head, feeling the leaves brush against the sides of his cheeks with the movement before rolling onto his side to face Magnus. Alec waits for Magnus to turn and face him before speaking again. “If you wait for me, I’ll wait for you.”“Always,” Magnus swears.---Or, the struggles of a long-distance relationship after Alec enlists in the military after college.





	Come Back...Be Here

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: I would absolutely love to read a mundane AU where Alec goes into the military and he and Magnus deal with that. (...) I was thinking more maybe like long-distance while Alec is overseas, an emotional reunion, etc.
> 
> A/N: I did a bit of research but I'm claiming no military or medical accuracy here. Title taken from Taylor Swift's "Come Back...Be Here" 
> 
> This can be read as a standalone, or as a continuation of [nothing less than perfect](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15791127).

“Let’s elope,” Magnus suggests quietly as they lay on the grassy hill behind Alec’s family’s estate. 

“What?” Alec says, the word more laughter than speech. 

“I’m serious. You leave in two days, that gives us 48 hours to go to city hall, or find some shady guy who got an internet license to officiate marriages. It can’t be that difficult.” 

Alec shakes his head. “No.” 

“Having second thoughts already?” Magnus jokes, but there’s an edge to the words, a hint of actual fear. 

“No. Never. I just… I don’t want to elope just because--” Alec stops, the words catching in his throat. “I love you. And I’m going to come back to you. And we’re going to do this the right way, because I know you’ve kept one of those ‘dream wedding’ scrapbooks since you were fourteen and I’m not about to deprive you of your blue and gold vision just because-” there’s a slight pause again, but this time Alec pushes through. “-you’re afraid I might not make it back.” 

They’re holding hands while looking up at the stars and Alec feels Magnus’ grip tighten around his fingers. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you’ll make it back. I just want to make it harder for you to run away with some handsome, rugged military man you meet overseas,” Magnus deflects. 

Alec smiles, shaking his head, feeling the leaves brush against the sides of his cheeks with the movement before rolling onto his side to face Magnus. Alec waits for Magnus to turn and face him before speaking again. “If you wait for me, I’ll wait for you.” 

“Always,” Magnus swears. Their lips meet and they forget about the weight of their reality for a little while. 

\---

Those 48 hours pass by faster than either of them are ready for. Alec and Jace’s families are there to see them off, naturally, but so is their entire extended group of friends from school. It’s a good thing, too, because that leaves enough people to comfort both Clary and Magnus when the pair of them inevitably break down. 

Clary cracks first, the tears starting the second Jace hugs her goodbye. She’s been crying on and off all morning but the moment Jace pulls away from her she’s inconsolable. Magnus, however, holds himself together a few minutes longer. He knows that this is just as difficult for Alec and promised him that he’d be fine - that they’d be fine - and he doesn’t want Alec to leave with an image of Magnus broken and hurting as the last thing he’ll remember him by. So Magnus gives Alec a shaky half-smile and a wave as the bus pulls away. 

The moment the bus full of soldiers is out of sight Magnus falls to his knees, his entire body shaking with silent sobs he worked so hard to keep in until now. There are tears in Isabelle’s eyes which weren’t there a moment ago as she kneels down beside him; her features are set in a determined half-smile, voice full of hope. “He made you promise you wouldn’t cry, too, didn’t he?” she says to him with a watery laugh. “He’ll be fine. He’s going to do everything he can to come back to us, and when have you ever known Alec to fail at something he puts his mind to?” 

Magnus sniffles and nods, taking Isabelle’s outstretched hand and allowing her to help him back up. “Of course. You’re right. I just didn’t expect it to hit this hard, I suppose.” It isn’t a lie. Magnus definitely thought he could hold himself together until he got back home, but the moment Clary began to lose it he knew it was just a matter of time for himself. The fact that he made it until Alec was out of sight is, he supposes, better than nothing. 

Back on his feet he makes his way over to Clary where Simon is comforting her with soft words and a gentle hand on her back. “You alright?” Simon asks him, not moving from Clary’s side but looking over at him with concern. 

Magnus considers lying but finally shakes his head once from side to side. “No,” he admits. “But I will be.” 

\---

Magnus writes to Alec every single day. He knows it’s excessive, he doesn’t even have enough going on in his life to write about on a daily basis, but that doesn’t stop him from filling at least one page a day with looping cursive. He doesn’t know when, or even if, Alec will have time to write him back. He isn’t even positive Alec is getting the letters - he knows that phones aren’t allowed the first week of training at the very least. 

Counting down the days until Sunday Mangus makes sure his entire schedule is clear. Sunday, if all goes well, will be the first time Alec gets to make personal phone calls. Magnus turns the volume on his phone all the way up and makes sure it’s charged enough to last the day. He tries to pass the time reading or putting a show on in the background, but he can’t focus on anything when he’s glancing at his phone every few seconds, checking his messages just in case. 

It’s nearly 3 in the afternoon when his phone rings the first time - it’s Raphael, and Magnus sends it to voicemail without a second thought. His friend will forgive him, or call him back if it’s important. 

The next time it rings is at 4:53. It’s Alec. 

“Alexander,” Magnus breathes out, sinking back against the sofa cushion.

“Hey, Magnus,” Alec’s voice greets him, tired but happy. “Sorry I don’t have a lot of time - we only get so many minutes, and I couldn’t bring myself to hang up on Izzy my first call home, and-” 

“It’s alright. It’s fine. It’s more than fine. God, it’s so good to hear your voice. You sound exhausted, though. Are you eating enough? Sleeping?” 

Alec laughs and Magnus can picture the way the corners of his eyes would crinkle with the action. All at once it hits him that he hasn’t seen that face in seven days, and he has no idea when the next time he’ll see it will be. He feels the tears sting his eyes while Alec answers, fighting the urge to sniff because he knows Alec will pick up on the noise for exactly what it is while Magnus tries desperately not to cry. 

“I’m doing great, actually - I’ve got better stamina than half the guys here, so no matter how tired I might sound I’m holding my own surprisingly well.” 

“You don’t have to tell  _ me  _ about your impressive stamina,” Magnus attempts to joke, but can hear the watery tone his words take and the way his laugh chokes off too soon. 

Alec’s voice softens immediately. “Are you crying?” 

“...no.” Magnus tries to lie, not very convincingly since even the single syllable wavers as he speaks it. 

Magnus hears Alec sniff. “Fuck, I can’t cry on my first call home. I’m never going to hear the end of it from the squad now.” 

“Sorry,” Magnus says, and means it. He wants to be stronger than this for Alec, who has more than enough to worry about than his sad, pathetic  fiancé  weeping back home. 

“Don’t be. I know this isn’t easy for you, either. I miss you so much Magnus, you have no idea.” 

“I think I have some idea,” Magnus says, finally getting the sudden burst of tears under control again. It’s the first time he cried since the bus pulled away a week ago. 

“That reminds me,” Alec says. “They gave us our mail today and I loved every letter. Thank you. I’m so glad I don’t have to miss out on the Chairman’s daily antics.”    
  
“Yes, well, turns out my life isn’t half as exciting without you around, so I have to write  _ something _ to fill the pages.” 

“I’ll write back as soon as I can. We don’t get a ton of free time, but...” just then Magnus hears a voice shout over Alec, drowning out the rest of his sentence with a one minute warning. His heart clenches in his chest knowing that means their call is about to end, but he isn’t ready to hang up yet. He hasn’t said enough, he has so many more questions to ask, and-- 

“I have to go,” Alec sighs softly. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too. Stay safe.” 

The line goes silent and Magnus drops his hand, staring at the ‘call ended’ screen on his phone until the display goes black. Magnus falls asleep on the sofa that night, still holding his silent phone, wishing for more time. 

\---

Time goes on that way for weeks. Magnus misses Alec more than he ever thought possible at the start, and instead of getting easier over time it only gets worse the more days pass since the last time he touched Alec, craving nothing more than to give him a hug or even just hold his hand. Alec keeps his promise to write back, not finding the time to every day but still surprising Magnus with little notes more often than he expects to get them. Magnus keeps them in the drawer beside his bed and reads them every night before bed. 

At least he doesn’t have to worry for a while, since Alec’s only in training and there isn’t a lot that can go terribly wrong on a life-threatening scale. Each week Alec calls on Sunday with some new accomplishment to boast about - some time he beat, or a new skill he learned, or a promotion within his training class. 

Magnus has never felt so conflicted. Of course he wants Alec to succeed.... but some small part of him up until this point hoped that maybe Alec would realize this isn’t the life for him after all and decide to drop out. Magnus will never admit it to anyone, of course - especially not to Alec who practically bursts with excitement every time he talks about a target he hit from farther away than anyone else who tried or each time he shaves another second off his mile. 

Despite the fact that all Magnus does is continue to live his normal civilian life, this is still one of the most difficult things he’s ever experienced. He wants to beg Alec to come home, to walk away from this life he keeps saying he was born for and come back to some boring, predictable 9-5 desk job he’d probably hate.

He wants to beg Alec to come back to  _ him _ . 

Instead he says how proud he is, which is also entirely true, and counts the days until Alec’s training is over and he gets to see him again. 

\---

“Hey Magnus,” Alec greets through the phone, pacing back and forth in front of his bunk. He tries to sound normal, forces a smile that he hopes might make his words sound happier somehow, but it doesn’t work. Magnus can always read him so well even when he can’t see him. 

“What’s wrong?” Magnus asks immediately, and Alec feels nothing but guilt over the worry behind his  fiancé’s  tone. 

“Nothing! I mean, nothing serious. I’m not hurt or anything,” Alec starts quickly, hearing the immediate sigh of relief from Magnus. “But…” he stalls, drawing the words out even though he knows he doesn’t have a lot of time to talk. He’s wasting precious moments they could be  _ really _ talking, maybe for the last time in a long time, because he can’t bring himself to break the news to Magnus. 

“What is it?” 

“We got our assignments today. I deploy the day after graduation, so I can’t-- I won’t have time to come home like I thought.” The words leave him in a rush, holding his breath as he waits for Magnus’ response. 

“Oh.” 

Alec’s heart breaks at how much disappointment is held in that single syllable. A lot of the assignments had a week or more between graduation and deployment, time the soldiers could use for brief trips home if they’d like. They both knew it wasn’t a guarantee but judging from the tone of Magnus’ voice Alec knows his  fiancé hoped just as much as he had that they’d have a few days together, not just a few hours. 

“There go my plans to trick you into eloping,” Magnus tries to joke. “We’ll still have some time after the ceremony, though, won’t we?” 

“Definitely. And I don’t have to stay here that night, I just have to be back by noon the next day. So I’m all yours after my family leaves. If you want to stay,” Alec adds quickly. Despite everything he doesn’t want to assume…

“Alexander,” Magnus huffs. “In  _ what universe _ would I not want to spend the night with you after not seeing you for over  _ two months _ ? I’m making the most of every second we have together.” 

“I can’t wait,” Alec says, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Ugh, how does a half an hour go by so goddamn fast?” 

“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure it goes by faster every week,” Magnus says. “But go, before you get in trouble. I love you.” 

“Love you too,” Alec says. “See you soon,” he adds before hanging up the phone and slumping back against the wall, holding his cell phone out for his commanding officer to take back until his next allowed phone privileges. A few minutes later Jace is by his side. 

“I hope for your sake that Magnus took the news better than Clary did,” Jace says with a groan. 

“That bad?” Alec asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“Worse,” Jace confirms. 

“ Look at it this way - it’d be twice as hard for them if we were home for a week or two before leaving again, wouldn’t it? This is… better, sort of, somehow.” 

“Thanks for the pep talk. Super convincing,” Jace says, and Alec doesn’t mind the sarcasm since he doesn’t buy into his own sentiment, either. 

He’ll have to work on that before seeing Magnus next week. 

\---

It’s torture to see Magnus and his family out in the sea of people watching the ceremony, to have them so close but not be able to go over or even say hi yet. They’re so close that it’s all he can think about, nearly missing his own name when it’s called. 

The moment they’re allowed he’s taking long, quick strides just shy of a run to clear the space between himself and Magnus, greeting his fiancé with a hug so tight he’s afraid one of them might crack a rib, though neither seems to mind. 

Magnus gives him a questioning glance when they break apart and it takes Alec a moment to realize that he’s not sure if Alec wants to kiss him here, in front of his fellow soldiers. 

“Come here,” Alec says, reaching out to pull Magnus back toward him. He did not wait 10 long weeks for this moment to let the potential discomfort of a few closed minds keep him from kissing his fiancé. 

They spend the night together at a motel on the outskirts of town, but neither of them sleep very much. Magnus traces circles on the back of Alec’s hand while they lay in bed, talking and simply enjoying one another's company well into the early morning hours. Sleep seems like a waste when they have such precious little time together. 

It’s a long, quiet ride back, the weight of the uncertainty of the next few months heavy on both of them. 

“When you come back,” Magnus says before Alec turns to leave. “I fully expect a dramatic, tear-filled reunion where we run into each other’s arms in the airport and everyone claps for us like one of those youtube compilations.” 

This makes Alec laugh, which is exactly what Magnus is hoping for. He doesn’t want his last recent memory of Alec to be of a frowning goodbye - he wants to take a mental photograph of this smile, he wants to hear this laugh in his head every night as he falls asleep. 

“Whatever you want,” Alec promises. Magnus knows that isn’t true - he doesn’t want Alec to go at all, but he’ll take what he can get. 

\---

Alec knows the cliché of people sending their significant others in the military  _ risqué  _ photos to keep with them during their deployment. Hell, he knows of at least half a dozen where he’s stationed right now because a lot of the guys like to show them off when they get them like some badge of honor. 

The last thing Alec expects to fall out of one of Magnus’ letters about two months into his deployment is a polaroid of Magnus wearing nothing but a very carefully draped sheet covering the bare minimum for this to be ‘tasteful’ rather than a straight-up x-rated nude-- which Alec is at first almost disappointed in, and then suddenly immensely grateful for when he forgets where he is and Jace comes up behind him. 

“Hey, did you get another letter from--  _ oh my god, Alec, put that away.”  _ Jace says, covering his eyes and backing away dramatically. 

“You can’t  _ see _ anything,” Alec points out, blushing a bright red just the same. 

“And yet I still saw more than I ever wanted to,” Jace says, shaking his head as he walks away muttering something about ‘never being able to unsee that’. 

It isn’t until Alec turns the photo over to hide it from view that he sees the note on the back: ‘ _ So you don’t forget what you’re fighting for, soldier ;)’  _

Alec tucks it away into his personal effects with a smile that doesn’t leave his face for hours after. 

\---

Magnus is out with some friends and far too drunk for his own good when he runs into his ex. Camille waits until Magnus wanders off alone for another drink to corner him at the bar, slinking up beside him and leaning over to whisper into his ear rather than shout over the music. 

“It isn’t like you to be out alone,” she says. 

“Get lost, Camille,” Magnus says. 

“Looks like you finally managed to ditch that dull boyfriend of yours,” she points out. 

“Alec isn’t my boyfriend,” Magnus slurs. “He’s my  _ fiancé _ .” 

Camille’s expression sours. “And where is he now? I haven’t seen him around in a while. If I were him, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.” 

“That’s because you’re a possessive bitch,” Magnus points out, the alcohol leaving him with no filter whatsoever. “Alec trusts me. But if you must know -  _ which you don’t _ \- he’s in the army,” Magnus informs her matter-of-factly. 

Camille’s expression shifts into something sharper at that knowledge. 

“You poor thing,” she practically purrs. “You must be  _ so lonely _ .” 

He doesn’t think anything of it outside of an exaggerated annoyance at her existence in general until her hand moves to rest on his thigh. 

The sudden touch is unexpected, and for a moment all Magnus can think is how long it’s been since anyone touched him like this, or held him, or-- 

But the moment Camille starts to trail her hand upward Magnus jumps back. It isn’t just anyone’s touch he’s missing, it’s Alec’s. And it sure as hell isn’t Camille’s. 

“What the  _ fuck _ , Cam!” he shouts, continuing to back away. 

“You never were good at being alone, Magnus. Come back with me, just for one night. I’ve been told I’m  _ exquisite _ company, though I’m sure you can remember-” Camille continues until she’s cut off. 

“Magnus!” It’s Catarina, who wastes no time getting over to him the moment she spots Camille. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m-” he starts, but trails off.  _ Lonely _ , he thinks, Camille’s words echoing in his head. “I need to get out of here,” he says instead. 

“Gladly,” Cat agrees, glaring daggers at Camille before ushering Magnus out the door. He leans against her shoulder on the cab ride home and Cat wraps her arms around him, holding him tight, and not saying a word when he cries quietly most of the way home from the bar.

\---

Almost every soldier has at least one letter they write to be given to their loved ones in the event of their death. Alec wrote the one to his parents, and a separate one for Isabelle, on the first day of his deployment. He’s never been great with words but it’s a decent letter, he thinks, and he’s never looked at it again since the day he wrote it. 

The paper on the table in front of him is for Magnus. It is the fifth draft of the letter he’s written, because he can’t seem to get it quite right. No words seem to hold enough weight for the sentiments he’s trying to convey. No matter how often he writes ‘I love you’ it doesn’t seem to read the same as it feels when he’s saying it, looking into the eyes of the man he loves, hand gently resting on the side of his face. 

But he tries, time and time again. And when he’s finally sent out with no clue when his next chance at a call or a letter might be, it’s draft number eight that he leaves behind, praying his insecurities over it will never matter because it’ll never have to be delivered. 

\---

Magnus never imagined he’d think this, but he longs for the days Alec was back in training. At least then he knew where he was and that he was safe. Now nothing is routine or predictable - sometimes Alec gets to call two or three times, other times Magnus doesn’t hear from him for weeks on end. Magnus answers every call that comes to his phone, just in case the unknown caller is Alec though it very rarely is. 

He hasn’t heard from Alec in weeks. Not a call, not a letter, and it isn’t just him; he’s checked with Clary and the Lightwoods, no word from either Jace or Alec in much longer than he cares to think about. 

He knows they’re fine, because if they weren’t then surely someone would’ve said  _ something _ by now, but that doesn’t make it easier to deal with the total radio silence. 

Magnus wishes for world peace, or a sudden overabundance of enlisted soldiers, or anything that will bring Alec home sooner. 

\---

Some days the time passes by so quickly Alec loses track of the days, the weeks blending together in the war zone he finds himself in. He has Jace by his side every step of the way - so far they’re lucky enough to stick together, their commanding officers noticing the way they move almost as one, as if they can read each other’s minds even in the most chaotic of combat scenarios. They’re a force to be reckoned with, never shying away from a challenge, always fighting the odds and coming back victorious. It’s great… until it isn’t. 

Jace, in all his hot-headed overconfidence, refuses to admit that they should fall back even though they lost sight of their target an hour ago. In fact, he’s so determined to keep his eyes on moving forward that he misses the man who circles around to get behind him. They both do, and it isn’t until Alec sees the telltale red dot of a rifle scope on Jace’s back that he realizes the danger they’re in. 

Alec has no idea if the shooter is alone or if there’s a dot on his back, too. He doesn’t care. Alec’s moving before he can even open his mouth to shout a warning. 

“Jace, get down!” 

Alec throws himself into Jace, pushing them both forward and onto the ground just as the sound of a bullet passes by where their heads were a millisecond before. 

“Fuck,” Alec grunts, not bothering to look behind them while both he and Jace scramble for cover. They’re near a building, but not near enough - a bullet catches the back of Alec’s leg, tearing through his calf. Jace pulls him the rest of the way behind the wall, calling for a medic and ripping some cloth off of his undershirt to wrap around the wound for pressure. 

Alec watches with increasing concern as blood - his blood, he notes with a strange detachment - soaks through the cloth and onto the ground below. Jace says something about an artery but it doesn’t quite process… Alec is pretty sure that this should hurt much more than the mostly numb he feels. The last thing Alec thinks about is how mad Magnus is going to be with him for getting shot before his vision goes black and he passes out. 

\---

Magnus is getting better at recognizing the foreign area codes from the places Alec is stationed, so there’s already a small smile of eager anticipation on his face when he answers his phone. 

“Magnus?” 

The smile’s gone the moment the voice on the other end is Jace. 

“Hey, uh, it’s Jace-” 

“Please tell me he’s okay,” Magnus cuts him off the second he can breathe enough to speak. 

“He’s alive,” Jace is quick to say, which is something, but not entirely comforting given the myriad of alternatives. 

At least Magnus’ worst fears are set aside while he braces himself for the rest of the news. After all, if Alec were fine he’d be calling Magnus himself. 

“But he got shot in the leg. He’s in surgery right now,” Jace continues. 

Magnus’ mind goes blank. Shot. Alec was  _ shot _ . Alec’s in  _ surgery _ because he got  _ shot _ . 

“Magnus? You still with me?” Jace’s voice on the other end of the phone brings Magnus’ thoughts back into focus. 

“Wha- I- yeah. Yes, I’m here.” Breathing is suddenly very difficult and something Magnus has to focus on. His voice is barely above a whisper when he speaks again. “How bad is it?” He doesn’t want to ask, terrified of the answer, but he needs to know. 

“I don’t know,” Jace admits. “He doesn’t even know I’m calling you, he’s been unconscious since it-” Jace’s words stop abruptly. “He saved my life. It’s my fault we were still out there, if I’d just-”

“None of that.” Now it’s Magnus’ turn to cut Jace off. “Blaming yourself will only make him feel worse. Just… promise me you’ll be there for him? For me?” 

“Of course,” Jace promises. “Shit, I gotta go. I don’t know if we’ll get to call out again but they’ll keep mom and dad updated on his condition so you can talk to them if you don’t hear back from Alec.” 

It takes all of Magnus’s self control to not text the Lightwoods for updates every two minutes. Instead he tells them to let him know the moment they hear anything and waits an agonizing four hours before getting word that Alec is going to need some extensive physical therapy but he should make a full recovery. 

It’s a best case scenario, he’s told, though a lot of the medical details of nicked arteries and torn ligaments mostly goes over his head. After spending the better part of the afternoon picturing paralysis or amputation or something going wrong with the surgery Magnus allows the relief he feels to be his primary focus. He tries not to dwell on the fact that he knows how poorly Alec’s going to react to being immobilized for any period of time, no matter how much worse the alternatives could’ve been. 

Alec isn’t allowed any phone calls while he’s medicated after his surgery but Izzy tells Magnus that Alec will get a medical discharge after a week or so of monitoring, and that’s better news than any phone privileges.

Alec’s alive, and he’s coming home. 

\---

Magnus is waiting at the airport with the Lightwoods when Alec’s flight lands. He has a sign that’s more glitter than poster at this point, and flowers, both of which he barely keeps hold of the moment he lays eyes on Alec making his way through the crowd with painful slowness, leaning heavily on a pair of crutches. The moment they make eye contact Magnus can see tears already welling up in Alec’s eyes. 

Magnus can’t even say his name, all words dying in his throat with a choked-off sob. Rushing forward Magnus drops the poster and flowers on the ground between them, carefully wrapping his arms around Alec and holding him for so long he doesn’t think he can bring himself to ever let go again. 

“They wanted to give me a wheelchair but I told them you couldn’t dramatically run into my arms if I was sitting down, and a promise is a promise,” Alec manages to say with a small, watery smile. “Sorry I could only dramatically hobble into yours.” 

“I missed you so much,” Magnus whispers into Alec’s neck, still not pulling away. Tears fall freely onto Alec’s shoulder leaving small wet marks and smears of eyeliner and mascara that Magnus should’ve known better than to wear. “I wished you would come home sooner so many times, but I didn’t mean like this.” 

“Don’t worry, karma’s already come for you now that you have to wait on me hand and foot while I’m not supposed to be walking,” Alec points out. 

“I’m surprisingly okay with it. I’ll even wear a maid outfit if you’re good,” Magnus jokes, savoring the wide-eyed shock the comment receives both from Alec and from a few unfortunate souls nearby who overhear him. Thankfully the Lightwoods aren’t among them, having hung back to give the two of them a moment alone. 

Magnus decides to make full use of that moment by leaning in to kiss Alec gently for the first time in nearly ten months. He can taste the salt from their mingling tears and Alec sways slightly, bringing a hand to rest against Magnus’ waist a bit awkwardly given the fact that he’s still holding onto the crutch as well. 

It’s not at all how Magnus pictured their reunion, but it’s more than enough, because it’s _ them _ . 

“Thanks for keeping your promises,” Magnus says finally, easing into the reality of Alec really, truly being home again. 

“I told you I’d make it back,” Alec says with a smile. “After all, we have a wedding to plan.” 

**Author's Note:**

> (Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) and also on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/By_The_Angell)! <3 )


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